Friday Freebie

The HR Council for the Voluntary & Non-profit Sector website offers a comprehensive (and free) resource to help non-profit employees, managers and board members better understand and manage issues relating to human resources. The HR Toolkit is available online at:

http://www.hrvs-rhsbc.ca/hr-toolkit/home.cfm

Happy Friday!

Friday Freebie

That was quite a hiatus I took - my apologies. It's been a busy month, with travel to Ontario, Maine and New Hampshire. By rights, I should owe you about four Freebies, so I'll do my best to make good on that.

1. If you're in the market for volunteers, or you're looking to promote your upcoming event, visit The Nova Scotia Volunteer Forum: http://www.nsvolunteerforum.ca/ (it's free!)


2. Funding Opportunities for Youth-serving Organizations. Check out today's post, under "On Giving" at http://www.bloomfornonprofits.com/


3. Funding opportunity - True Sport Community Fund: Funding to help children and youth participate in sports. Visit http://www.truesportfoundation.ca/ for details


4. This one may seem like a no-brainer, but if you find yourself with hours of research to do and you're not sure where and how to start, check out your local library, either online or in person. You might be surprised at what you find there.

Happy Friday!

Friday Freebies

Yesterday I attended an AFP session on time management. The primary focus of the presentation was centred around managing email, and the amount of time we all spend on this task on a daily basis.

The inspiration for today's Freebie came from a colleague of mine, Anne Melanson (Bloom Non Profit Consulting Group). At the end of the session, Anne told us all about a free online resource that we could use when trying to schedule meetings that involve several people, such as committees and boards. Doodle (www.doodle.com) is an online poll service provider. It is absolutely free and rquires no registration. You simply set up your poll, email the link to your committee members, and have them weigh in on their availability or vote for their choice...the possibilities are endless.

Check it out, and Happy Friday.

Federal Funding for Seniors

The government of Canada has recently launched a call for proposals for funding requests in support of seniors. Funds are available to help non-profit organizations renovate facilities or replace equipment they use to deliver seniors’ programs and activities.

For more information, please visit:
http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?m=/index&nid=481349

Deadline for applications is November 6, 2009.

Friday Freebies

I'm either three days late for last week's post, or four days early for this week's - it depends on your point of view. Either way, here's a fun (and free) resource for those who have a secret desire to host their own talk show...or simply to create and host live video segments.

With UStream TV, www.ustream.tv, anyone with a webcam can create their own video show and broadcast it live over the Web. But it's not just a wecam tool - users can create live videos using a camera or video recorder.

So when you're planning your next big donor recognition event or other news-worthy announcement, and the folks from CNN seem uninterested in providing news coverage, take the bull by the horns and broadcast it yourself!

Exciting Career Opportunity

Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa (YSB) is one of Canada’s most dynamic and progressive multi-service youth focused agencies located in one of the Nation’s most livable urban regions, Ottawa-Gatineau.

YSB’s Board of Directors has approved the establishment of a fundraising Foundation, in order to generate more revenue and strengthen the agency’s programming. The Board has targeted the launch of the foundation for January 2010, and is seeking a qualified and motivated fundraising professional to lead this exciting initiative as the Foundation’s inaugural Executive Director.

To review the position description and apply online, please visit:
http://www.ysb.on.ca/

Friday Freebies

I searched far and wide to find a true "free" version of, what I think, is an amazing technology tool...text-to-speech and text-to-mp3 software.

I realize that text-to-speech software has probably been around for a few years and is invaluable to people living with vision loss, but I never realized the availability and value of text-to-mp3 software. Nextup.com offers both free (basic) and paid-for (premium) versions of TextAloud software. With speech-to-mp3 software, you can convert any electronic text document to audio files that can be played on your iPod, mp3 player, and even on your television. I wish I had known this existed when I was studying to write my CFRE exam!

Most of us spend way too much time sitting in front of a computer these days. Convert electronic editions of the newspaper, or those reports you need to review, to mp3 files. Hook up your iPod, lace up your sneakers, and take it outside - enjoy the outdoors while the weather's still great.

Happy Friday!